Current cooling systems use large amounts of water in the operation of the cooling process. For example, most steam power plants utilize a Cooling Water System (CWS) that transfers heat from working steam to the water in the CWS. The water in the CWS is typically then cool by either evaporating the water in cooling towers resulting in a large amount of water loss or by using once-through cooling with heat exchangers using a large volume of available water, such as a river, lake or estuary source. Once-through cooling causes surface water to be drawn from a source (river, lake, etc.), heated, then returned to the source, causing environmental impact.
As water becomes a more valuable commodity, a need remains, therefore, for systems and methods for water saving cooling systems and methods.